Rangers paid £2m for Mexican midfielder Pena but he made just 12 Scottish Premiership appearances – and is now in Poland with GKS Tychy.
Rangers flop Carlos Pena has admitted that Steven Gerrard told him that he was not part of his plans after an ill-fated loan spell at Cruz Azul came to an end in May last year, speaking to his new club’s official YouTube channel.
A £2 million signing from Guadalajara in the summer of 2017, big things were expected of the Mexican international at Ibrox – particularly as he was earning a hefty £20,000 a week, as reported by Football Scotland.
But Pena made just 12 Scottish Premiership appearances under compatriot Pedro Caixinha before returning to his homeland with Cruz Azul.
The 28-year-old’s time in the Azteca could not have gone much worse, however. He was sacked by Cruz Azul 10 months ago due to off-field problems, according to the Scottish Sun.
And Pena has admitted that was when his Rangers career also came to an end.
“My first coach at Rangers Pedro Caixinha called me to ask me to go on loan to Cruz Azul,” he said.
“But when I finished there Steven Gerrard told me he had completed his squad selection and I wasn’t under consideration because of the loan. I knew then that I didn’t have a chance of regular games.”
Pena then spent a similarly ill-fated spell at Liga MX outfit Necaxa before Rangers decided to terminate his contract in January.
These days, he is trying to get his career back on track at Polish second tier outfit GKS Tychy, having been unveiled by the club on Monday.
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